Taming Eastyn (Stampton College Boys Series Book 1)

by Dawn Doyle

  Shay leaned closer, and I forced myself not to do the same, but when I saw her glance down to my mouth, I knew I’d failed. “I thought you’d be pissed if I was still there,” she whispered, her fresh breath blowing over my lips.

  I relaxed my hands and reached over to take hers from her knee where it was bouncing. “Why the fuck would I be pissed? Shay, did I give you that impression?” When she shook her head, I continued. “If I wanted you to leave, I’d fucking say so.” I leaned forward, just enough to bring my lips close to her ear, gently grazing the skin, and she shivered. “In future, you stay put, because if I wake up again and you’re gone, I’ll come looking for you.” Her sharp intake of breath made me smile. “Don’t think that I won’t.” I snaked my tongue out and flicked my tongue over her earlobe, and her hand tightened in mine.

  “In future,” she repeated, and I pulled back, loving that her pupils were dilated, the huge black circles taking over her irises. “So you expect I’m going to be in your room again?”

  I smiled slowly and ran my tongue over my bottom lip, watching her follow it. “If you remember our conversation, then you already know the answer to that.” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and I wanted to suck it back out and bite it. “Damn it, Shay,” I groaned. Over her shoulder, I spotted Casey, Max, and Justin watching us. “We’ve got an audience.” I let go of her hand and stood, but didn’t miss how her beautiful face fell. I felt like shit, but I wasn’t ready to talk about what was going on between us. Fuck, I didn’t even know.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you around?” she asked, tugging at her sweater and pulling the fabric onto her shoulder.

  “Tonight,” I said, pushing my hands into my pockets. “The guys are going to Stampede and expect me to be there. Are you going?”

  Shay shook her head. “I can’t, Eastyn, but have fun with your friends.”

  I didn’t get a chance to say anything else, because the second Shay turned to walk away, the guys approached and turned to watch her leave.

  “What the fuck was that about?” Justin asked, his eyes glued to Shay’s ass.

  I wanted to punch his fucking lights out for looking. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” I replied, glaring at him.

  Max tore his eyes away from her long enough to ask, “So, why did she look upset…again?”

  “You should know by now that that’s my thing,” I spat through my ground teeth. When I met Casey’s gaze, he smiled, his brows shooting up. Yeah, he knew something was going on, but I wasn’t going to say a fucking word. Not until Shay trusted me, because from the way I’d just fucked up with how I’d acted, there was no way that she did.

  Chapter 8

  Shay

  My knees were shaking so bad, I could barely get out of my car. I hadn’t been back to campus to welcome anybody back, and as most students had their classes start a couple of days ago, there was no need for me to be there other than the paper. I’d put that off, too. I hadn’t wanted to face Ian, and I hadn’t been in the mood to write anything, either. My notebook had gone unopened, and my laptop had been used only to watch movies.

  I’d had a few text messages from Mason and Sabrina, asking how break was and that their vacation was great. When I’d called, we’d talked for more than two hours, but I never brought up what had happened with Lara. Instead, I made the excuse of needing my own space and room to move around. Mason could see through my poor excuses, but never called me out.

  I scanned the area through my windshield, taking in the full parking lot. Things were going to return to the usual happenings around Stampton College. My stomach rolled and my mouth dried up, indicating that I had to vacate my vehicle and venture onto campus to face whatever was coming my way.

  “Shay, where have you been?” Lara rushed out as she jogged up beside me. “Wendy told me you moved out. I had no idea until I walked in on Monday morning.”

  Yeah, to the huge mess you left behind, expecting me to clean up as usual.

  I shrugged and continued walking. “I did you a favor, Lara. I’m no longer invading your personal space.”

  “Wait,” she said, tugging my elbow, and I stopped to face her. “What you heard, I never meant it to sound so…”

  “Bitter?” I finished for her. “Hard done by? Well, you aren’t anymore. You’ve now got the room to yourself like you wanted.” I pulled my arm free and continued on my way to my first English class of the week.

  “Shay, I still want us to be friends!” she called after me, but the feelings from that night returned along with the memories of what the girls had said. “I’m sorry!”

  I turned around full circle as I spoke. “You have an unusual way of showing it.” My parents’ words flew out of my mouth, but I was past caring at that point. The start to break had been upsetting, but by the end, I was glad I’d stuck around. But now… With Lara approaching me and Eastyn’s behavior when his friends saw us, I wondered if I should have just gone home to an empty house after all.

  My stomach growled, hunger pains causing me to curl over and rub my empty abdomen. I’d forgotten to eat and I was desperate for food. The food hall was busy as usual, but going off campus and waiting longer wasn’t an option.

  In and out, that’s all it takes.

  That was my plan and I just had to execute it.

  Laughter and loud, excited voices made the hall sound as though there were three times the amount of people in there, talking about vacations, parties, and hooking up.

  I made my way through the bodies standing around, and took my place at the back of the queue. “A slice of pizza, fries, and a soda, please,” I said to the server, then paid the cashier. I took my tray and held it close, trying not to end up with food all down my black top. The three-quarter sleeves were free from dipping into my lunch, but the V in the front wouldn’t be safe if someone knocked the tray up.

  “Hey, Shay!” Will greeted, holding his hand up as I passed their table. I had no choice even though my palms grew clammy as I neared; it was so busy in there. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine, thank you,” I replied, and walked forward.

  I saw Eastyn sitting in front of Casey, his eyes down at the plate in front of him. He didn’t look up as I got closer, and my racing heart hurt from his rejection.

  The chair next to him pulled out in front of me, the same as when I was last there.

  “Join us,” he said, holding the chair out. His head slowly turned, his green eyes meeting mine.

  I blinked and searched the faces of the other guys around the table. They were talking animatedly about the campus bar and something happening there. My insides jolted at the thought of what that would be, and a sharp ache hit me when I wondered if that incident involved him.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said quietly and began to walk around the chair.

  “Please?” he asked. I paused and turned back. Something in Eastyn’s eyes held me in place, freezing my feet where I stood. “Sit with us.” Then he mouthed, “With me.”

  I folded like an old deckchair when I saw that same look as the night in his dorm, the uncertainty, the worry, and I stepped toward him. “Fine.” The second I sat, I was assaulted by everything Eastyn. He smelled so good, and as I attempted to tuck myself under the table without touching him, I noticed the shirt he was wearing. It was the same one I’d had on a few nights before.

  I reached into my satchel and took out my hand sanitizer, then squirted a healthy amount on my hands before rubbing it in as much as I could.

  “What-up, Shay?” Linc asked, his face lighting up as he grinned, making his dark-brown eyes sparkle. “Have a good break?”

  “Did you do anything good?” Will interrupted before I could reply.

  “Our moody boy, here, stayed put,” Max added, gesturing to Eastyn.

  “I did, I did, and I know,” I replied to all three.

  “You do?” Max tilted his head to the side. “How?”

  Fingers stroked softly down the outside
of my thigh as though asking permission, and I remained still, granting it. I held my breath as they worked down to my knee before closing over it. “I did, too—I saw him.” I cringed inside while heat rose to my cheeks, my head bobbing rapidly. “I-I mean, I was here.” I flicked my gaze opposite to Casey, who was holding back a smile while his knowing stare penetrated me.

  Max shrugged. “Makes sense.”

  I dropped my head and looked down at my lunch. Eastyn picked up some of his fries and put them in his mouth as though he wasn’t caressing my knee under the table.

  He leaned toward me. “Relax,” he whispered, and I whipped my head toward him. “You’re tense.”

  I narrowed my eyes and stared incredulously. “Tense?” I hissed under my breath. “Can you blame me, Eastyn?” And hell did his long lashes lift and his jade irises meet mine with a stare so intense, I had to squeeze my thighs together to relieve the ache there. Eastyn’s lips twitched, no doubt feeling my reaction to him, considering where his hand was.

  His fingers moved up away from my knee to my thigh, stroking inward. My stomach tensed as his fingers curled around the inside, his thumb drawing circles on the top. My nipples pinched in arousal and I licked my lips as they hardened further. “They don’t need to know my business—our business,” he said.

  He was still hiding whatever was going on between us, and my insides knotted. “What game are you playing?” I asked, keeping my voice low so the others couldn’t hear the tremors in my tone. “Because I’m not going to be played—not again.”

  His eyes flashed, and his jaw steeled, his nostrils flaring a little, only for his expression to fall flat once again. “We should talk.”

  “What’s going on over there?” Will jerked his chin toward us when we turned our heads. “Looks like you two are talking about something serious. Something going on we can help with?”

  “No,” Eastyn said, his tone flat, but his hand remained on my leg, his fingers tightening as though keeping me there. “Nothing’s going on.”

  With his calm exterior saying one thing, and his actions saying another, it was becoming more apparent that there was a hell of a lot more to Eastyn than he was willing to show, and I wanted to see more.

  The entire time we sat at the table, Eastyn’s hand remained on my thigh, but nobody sitting with us made any further comment, even though I could have sworn Casey wanted to. He and Eastyn had stared at each other a few times, only for a few seconds, but my paranoia had gotten the better of me and I couldn’t help but look around to see whether anybody was staring.

  There was.

  I’d caught a few girls watching, and when I spotted Elise and Chloe walking in, Elise’s angry eyes narrowed on me, her bright-pink lips pursing when she saw who I was sitting next to. It didn’t take her long to come over.

  “Hello, guys, I just wanted to say hi. Oh, and we’re all going to Stampede again tonight, so you’re all invited to join us.” She looked down at me, then to Eastyn, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Well, most of you, anyway.” She stared at each of the guys while running her tongue over her bottom lip, slowly blinked, then pushed her loose hair back over her shoulder and lifted her chest. Her boobs strained against the red fabric of her deep V-neck sweater.

  Eastyn leaned closer to me, his warm breath tickling my ear. “Do you have plans?”

  “I’ve got an assignment to start and another thing I have going on,” I replied. I needed to speak to Ian about the paper at some point, and I didn’t know how he was going to react to what I had to say.

  “Me too.” His fingers stroked my leg again, the sensation of the tips on my skin sending more shockwaves up to the apex of my thighs. I fidgeted in my seat, but it did nothing to stop the building ache there. He spoke to Elise while looking at me. “That’s a no from me, by the way.”

  “Yeah, we’re a little busy, too,” Casey added.

  “Bye.” Linc waved his hand and then looked away from her as though she hadn’t even come over.

  Elise huffed and spun on her heel before sauntering out of the hall. I looked away from her retreating back when Eastyn leaned closer to me.

  “Meet me after classes are done?” he asked, a little more than a whisper as his fingers circled around and around, dangerously close to where my leg met my body.

  The sensations of his gentle touch sent shockwaves of pleasure up to my center. I tried to dampen the fire by moving, but it did nothing to stop the throbbing need there.

  Staring into his eyes, I found myself nodding, unable to think of anything else under his gaze. “Sure.”

  One corner of Eastyn’s mouth tilted up. “I’ll be done by three.” I nodded again while the guys stared at us, intrigue twisting their features—narrowed eyes and slightly pursed mouths as they watched, then he said to Casey, “We gotta get to class.”

  “I should, too,” I said, standing up the second Eastyn’s hand left my thigh, leaving a cold spot in its place, but the arousal deep inside me didn’t dissipate as quickly. “Bye, guys.”

  “Hey, Shay,” Linc said before I could leave.

  “Yeah?”

  He gestured toward the chair I’d just vacated. “In case you didn’t already know, that’s your spot now.”

  I looked down at the wooden seat, then back up, meeting his smiling face. “It is?”

  Eastyn hoisted his bag over his shoulder and stared right at me. “See you later, Shay.”

  The guys walked off together toward the East exit, and I walked toward the West, looking down to avoid the stares of the other students. When I cleared the doorway, I exhaled long and slow.

  “Hey, Shay?”

  I spun around, my hand flying to my chest. “Eastyn, God!” I scared so easily it was unreal.

  He chuckled, then pulled out his iPhone, unlocking the screen. “Put your number in.” My hand shook as I took it from him and added myself to his contacts. When I looked up and handed it back, his smile stretched across his face, lighting his eyes. He pressed a few keys, then my phone beeped. “See you later”—he leaned dangerously close to my face, our lips inches apart—“Shay.”

  I watched him leave, and his ass, before I found the ability to move again. I checked my phone, wondering if it was Eastyn that had texted me.

  ‘Meet me at the bench.’

  I added his name for the number, smiling to myself the whole time while taking a long breath.

  This is insane.

  Eastyn

  “Still keeping quiet?” Casey asked as he tapped his pen against the desk top. “Not gonna give us anything?”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say,” I replied, writing down the notes Professor Kerridge had scrawled on the board during Criminal Justice class.

  “Come on,” he goaded. “Something’s definitely going on with you and Shay. I have eyes, ya know.”

  I stopped writing and faced him. “We talked a few times during break.” I wasn’t going to tell him shit about what was going on; I didn’t know myself, especially after she left my dorm. After class, though, I was gonna find out what the hell was up with Shay and why she thought I was playing her.

  Casey held his hands up. “Just making an observation,” he stated. “Plus, you never ask anybody to sit with us.”

  His insistence was pissing me off. “So?”

  “Hey.” He leaned closer to me and whispered when the professor glared at him. “It’s a good thing, right? I mean, I can tell she likes you.”

  So could I. There was no mistaking how her pupils dilated when I moved closer to her, the way her cheeks flushed sexily when I ran my fingers over her thigh… Fuck, the more I though about it, the more my dick reacted, letting me know exactly what touching her did to me—things I hadn’t felt with other girls throwing me off guard, knocking down my defenses at the simple contact.

  There was definitely something about Shay that made me feel different. I wanted to know her, I wanted to see more of her, and more importantly, I wanted her to see me. I just had
to get past my demons long enough so she could. I just hoped that when she did, the look in her eyes whenever she stared at me, remained the same.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, and continued with my work.

  Casey sat back in his chair and blew out a long breath. “Okay, I won’t push, but I’m just gonna says this. We’re all here for each other, you know that, right?”

  I glanced at him, then to the front of the room. “Yeah.”

  “Be happy, East. If Shay brings a smile to that ugly face of yours, then we can’t ask for anything more.”

  I slowly licked my lower lip, then ground my jaw. My friends never judged me by what I’d done, or what had happened, and had always given me space when I needed it, especially when I didn’t want to fucking talk. Sharing had been beaten out of me a long time ago, the scars still there from every foot, fist, and weapon. So, when I gave them anything, they fucking listened.

  “I like her.”

  He patted his hand on my shoulder, then squeezed gently. “Yeah, man, we know—it’s kinda obvious.” He tapped his pen a couple of times. “Does she know anything?” I shook my head. “Are you gonna tell her?”

  I took a deep breath, imagining how that talk would go down. It wouldn’t be pretty at all, and thinking about spilling my secrets had a knife cutting right through my fucking guts. “In time.”

  *****

  The last of my classes was over, but just before I could leave my final lecture of the day, Professor Chambers beckoned for me.

  “Eastyn, could I speak to you for a moment?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  We waited for the other students to leave, with a few of them looking over their shoulders in curiosity before walking away.

  “Have you found a suitable willing subject for your assignment?” she asked while pushing her glasses up her nose. The small black rectangles were barely big enough for her to see through. “You had six weeks to complete your report, and there are four weeks left. Some students are already halfway through theirs.” Her head tipped to the side as though assessing me, her thin lips pursing.